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Climate Change

Given its potential for reducing carbon emissions, enhancing soil fertility and improving climate resilience, Organic Agriculture should form the basis of comprehensive policy tools for addressing the future of global nutrition and addressing climate change.

How ORGANIC AGRICULTURE COUNTERs CLIMATE CHANGE:

Reduces greenhouse gases, especially nitrous oxide, as no chemical nitrogen fertilizers are used and nutrient losses are minimized

Stores carbon in soil and plant biomass by building organic matter, encouraging agro-forestry and forbidding the clearance of primary ecosystems.

Minimizes energy consumption by 30-70% per unit of land by eliminating the energy required to manufacture synthetic fertilizers, and by using internal farm inputs, thus reducing fuel used for transportation

How CONVENTIONAL AGRICULTURE CONTRIBUTES to Climate change:

Uses synthetic fertilizers and pesticides that require significant amounts of energy to manufacture.

Applies excessive amounts of nitrogen fertilizer that is released as nitrous oxide.